Slaying is his business -  Buffy's Cliff Richards

In an era where seeing an artist pencil two issues back to back on deadline is considered a small miracle by some, Cliff Richards has maintained a regular monthly schedule for close to four years. Hailing from Brazil, Richards is arguably the definitive artist for the Buffy comic book, having pencilled a large portion of the title's current run. Newsarama spoke to Richards about his artistic influences, being a Buffy fan and what it takes to keep a monthly schedule. 

A longtime fan of the medium, Richards was never formally trained as an artist. He learned his craft by pouring over stacks of comics. The stack included a lot of the usual suspects: Superman, Batman, the Phantom, but Richards cites Spider-Man as an old and current favorite.

When he learned from friends about a chance to break into the industry, Richards got some samples together. "I was born in Belo Horizonte, capital city of the State of Minas Gerais, third biggest city in Brazil," Richards said. "Since I was a young kid my passion has been drawing. Although my parents took me to art classes, I never liked any of them. I learned from the books I read and from trying to do those wonderful drawings by myself.

"Some friends told me about editors in São Paulo that were getting jobs in American comics through editor/writer David Campiti. So I started sending him samples and he really liked my drawings. After that, he got me a job with a small publisher and I did my first published book called Angel Heat – no relation to Buffy´s Angel."

Soon enough, Dark Horse came a-knockin' in search of a Buffy fill-in artist. Richards got the gig, and hasn't let go since. "Dark Horse was looking for an artist to do two issues for the Buffy miniseries," Richards said. "They liked the samples I did so much that they hired me to do a fill-in issue for the regular book. Then I never stopped doing it."

Initially, the toughest part of keeping up with deadlines was matching the comic and the television show for Richards. "When I first started working on the book it was very tough to keep the likenesses and the mood of the show in the comic," Richards said. "But now after so many issues, I can do a whole one in a very short time."

"The license holders want very close likenesses of the actors. So at the beginning I used all the references I could. But working on the same characters for such a long time, it became much easier to draw them."

Despite the trouble likenesses pose on occasion, Richards not only enjoys working on the title, but the show the comic is based on. "Man, I love Buffy," Richards said. "Even before I worked on the book. I watched every episode of the show that I could, so you can imagine how good it is for me working on it."

It's that inherent fandom that makes Richards think he will stick with the title for a while. "I intend to work on Buffy as long as I can," Richards said. "I've been doing it for four years. It´s so familiar to me, that I don't really think about leaving the book. I really like to work with likenesses, I'd really like to do that kind of work with other characters."

Richards' list of artistic idols is a long one, but is still growing, he says. Richards also follows a few writers, which not suprisingly, includes the current Buffy team. "I have grown up admiring artists like Alex Raymond, John Buscema, Lee Talk, John Romita Sr., Greg Land, Adam Hughes, Travis Charest, Stuart Immonen and many others," Richards said. "There isn't enough room to list them all here. I learned a lot from all of them. More recently I discovered European artists like Milo Manara, Moebius, Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri and others.

"I like the work of Garth Ennis, Mark Waid, and after working with Jim Pascoe and Tom Fassbender I realized how good their work is, and of course Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza."

Working with Lobdell and Nicieza has helped Richards continue to improve his skills, he says. Fan feedback has also proven to be a strong influence on Richards. "I've worked with very talented writers on Buffy," Richards said. "But Fabian and Scott have really helped me improve my skills on Buffy´s pages. Thank you guys!

"At the beginning fans used to write saying how much they loved my work. Some of them really helped me with their criticism too. I'm really grateful to know that so many people like what I do. I really love drawing comic books and I'm always looking to improve. I'll never stop doing that. I hope the fans keep looking for my work. They can be sure that I will always try to bring them my best."

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